Ninth Circuit Rules Medical Marijuana Card Holders Can't Buy Guns

Possessing a medical marijuana card may allow you to buy, posses, and consume marijuana in one of 25 states (plus DC!), but as CBS 5 reports, it also comes with some limitations: Namely, you can't buy guns.

So ruled the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today, upholding a previous ruling banning a Nevada woman from buying a gun in 2011 after she had obtained a medical marijuana card. The ruling only applies to states in the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction, but unfortunately for those wishing to treat their ailments while exercising their Second Amendment rights, that's still a lot of states.

As the federal government considers weed an illegal drug, the court found it could ban users of said illegal drug from buying guns. But what if the person no longer smokes weed, but still has a card? Doesn't matter: According to Consumerist the court ruled that it is reasonable to assume a card holder uses the drug, and thus the ban is lawful regardless of actual use.

So, if residents of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Alaska, or Hawaii want to blaze up while owning guns, they're going to have to do it without a medical marijuana card. Or with an illegally obtained firearm.